Special report: The second year of community resistance near Guatemala City

Two years have passed since the beginning of the struggle and resistance actions conducted by communities in San Jose del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc municipalities, in Guatemala metropolitan area, against the installation in their territory of the metal industry Kappes Kassiday Associates (KCA) with their subsidiary Exploraciones Mineras de Guatemala SA (EXMINGUA).

A special report on the different stages of this peaceful struggle against gold extraction just a stone’s throw from the country’s capital, was published on February 26 by Siwan Tinamit (The Voice of the Peoples) of the Mayan Waqib´ Kej National Convergence

The communities have had to resist a series of violent actions financed by the company. Supposed mine workers tried to break the blockade that prevented access for machines to the working site, which was surreptitiously occupied by the company, provoking the demonstrators.

These actions had the support “ of the National Police and included the arrest of some of the leaders. The photo attached to this article depicts one of the moments of tension between the demonstrators and the agitators hired by the company.

Moreover, on February 27, PIF construction company decided to take 57 machines from the “El Tambor” mining Project. Tractors, bulldozers, pickup trucks and vans were withdrawn after a dialogue process with community members of the La Puya resistance movement, who celebrated the decision as a victory.

The mining company insisted on continuing the project, but the licensee´s decision is considered by the organizations as a sign of the fact that community rejection has managed to put the project in danger.

According to the community members defending the territories, the defense “aims to ensure the lives of new generations, for them to live in a healthy territory, free from violence, in a pure and non-polluted environment”.